Sat 27 Aug 2011
Playstation
Unreal Tournament 3 – Review
Part of the reason why Unreal hasn’t made much of an impact since it debuted on the PS3 is because it began as a PC game, meaning the majority of its fans are PC gamers, to many PS3 gamers Unreal Tournament might have debuted as a relative unknown. For those of you who are familiar with Unreal Tournament this game was not just a PC marvel but a marvel. The Unreal tournament franchise debuted in 1999 the same year that Quake 3 arena was released provoking a perpetual rivalry between these two FPS online heavy weights, Quake was stated to have fastest game play but lacked a single player mode, truthfully they were both good games and it was just really a matter of preference. Unreal Tournament was awarded game of the year and hailed for its state of the art visual effects, imaginative level design and wide selection of game modes. Fast forward half a Decade and Unreal Tournament is still strong on the PC but a relative ghost on consoles releasing a number of Unreal games, perhaps most notably Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict which was unjustifiably overlooked to the point of being almost criminal. Part of the reason for this was because Unreal Tournament, a pioneer in FPS gaming that raised the bar going into the millennium is because there is greater competition in the FPS market, as a result it has been joined by countless new titles. But now with Unreal Tournament 3, suddenly the most hyped up game of the year looks like it will finally be getting the recognition it deserves not just on PC but on the PS3.
Unreal Tournament is not surprisingly a gorgeous game, the Unreal Engine which Unreal Tournament debuted with in 1999 is still being used today by greats such as Gears of War. If you played Gears of War you may be quick to make the ignorant statement that Unreal Tournament looks startlingly similar to Gears of War, I would be quick to correct you, it is Gears of War that looks startlingly similar to Unreal Tournament because Gears of War uses the Unreal engine that was designed initially for Unreal Tournament. The atmosphere, the environment and the gameplay of Unreal Tournament is what separates it from the millions of other FPS game out there, Unreal is simply in a league of its own. Taking place in a Star wars/Blade Runnerisque sci-fi dystopia, Unreal 3 is a truly marvellous world that is quite unlike any other, the variety and diversity on the maps and planets simply can’t be found elsewhere. Despite its cutting edge graphics Unreal still manages to have that 80’s arcade sort of feel where it’s all fun and games, after all if you die you just respawn anyways. In other words it doesn’t feel like you’re dying but more like you’re playing laser tag, it also has the futurist rave techno music to reinforce this feeling. Although Unreal Tournament does have a single campaign mode, complete with a compelling story, it was clearly designed for online play, this is what catapulted the franchise to success in the first place. Nevertheless the single player experience although not Gears of War or Halo is worth experiencing by itself. The computer controlled bots are almost infinitely customizable and they can be adjusted so that they are almost impossible to kill or so that they are impossible not to kill, the AI is really solid.
Even though the amount of game modes Unreal Tournament offers pales in comparison to a lot of the newer franchises out there, I kind of got the sense that it was probably intentional on the developer’s part. Unreal Tournament has presented itself as the classic FPS fragfest experience and keeps the nature of online play a competitive one, but I could kind of sense it was intentional. The game delivers the essentials you would expect an Unreal Tournament game to have, Team Deathmatch, Capture the flag, Deathmatch, many of the Multiplayer games that Unreal Tournament initially helped to create anyways. But the game doesn’t follow suit with newer console FPS’s such as Battlefield or Call of Duty with good reason, Unreal Tournament 3 isn’t trying to be one of these games with a gazillion useless mini games and modes, Unreal Tournament is trying to be Unreal Tournament. They chose not to water down or dampen the nature of their game, which I completely agree with.
The gameplay didn’t disappoint, it delivered exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Unreal franchise, lightning fast smooth gameplay that doesn’t let you blink, a simple and practical control interface that enables anyone to be able to just pick up and play complete with PC mouse and Keyboard support for diehard PC gamers who can’t stand using controllers for FPS games. Mind you the integrated PS3 controls utilizing the PS3 controller are also very well implemented, my only problem with it was I found the default stick response to be a little slow, however this can be adjusted as well. What I loved most about this game is that the action stays smooth, I didn’t notice any major drops in the framerate even in the franticness of close up shoot offs, complete with rocket explosions and vehicles the game held its ground. UT is non-stop action, complete with winding mazes through sophisticated, futuristic industrial complexes, technoish music that makes you feel like you’re at a Sci-Fi rave and Deathmatch and capture the flag are still the foundation of the Unreal Tournament experience.
Unreal Tournament 3 still stands out even amidst the numerous other newcomers to the genre, Unreal Tournament is simply a novelty, in a league of its own. There is no other game quite like Unreal Tournament, with endless hours of playability, a truck load of customizable options, built in support for downloadable maps and mutators, tweaking modes with things like reduced gravity or insta-gib. With cross-compatibility for everything the PC community develops you can bet there will be plenty of new content available. Classic maps like Facing Worlds are already there. Unreal Tournament 3 sticks to the fast paced arcade feel that made it the powerful franchise that it is and it just owns it. Everything about this game is meticulously crafted. This is a must own game for all PS3 gamers out there, not just PC gamers.
Review: 98%
Pros:
The Game looks gorgeous, the maps, the worlds, the characters, there is simply no other FPS experience like Unreal Tournament
The game is fast paced, easy to get into and fiercely competitive in the Online circuit
The sound and music are still so fun, it feels like one big futuristic party
Cons:
The game is still somewhat behind in terms of the amount of playable modes and options it provides when compared with more modern FPS games.
Unreal Tournament is not surprisingly a gorgeous game, the Unreal Engine which Unreal Tournament debuted with in 1999 is still being used today by greats such as Gears of War. If you played Gears of War you may be quick to make the ignorant statement that Unreal Tournament looks startlingly similar to Gears of War, I would be quick to correct you, it is Gears of War that looks startlingly similar to Unreal Tournament because Gears of War uses the Unreal engine that was designed initially for Unreal Tournament. The atmosphere, the environment and the gameplay of Unreal Tournament is what separates it from the millions of other FPS game out there, Unreal is simply in a league of its own. Taking place in a Star wars/Blade Runnerisque sci-fi dystopia, Unreal 3 is a truly marvellous world that is quite unlike any other, the variety and diversity on the maps and planets simply can’t be found elsewhere. Despite its cutting edge graphics Unreal still manages to have that 80’s arcade sort of feel where it’s all fun and games, after all if you die you just respawn anyways. In other words it doesn’t feel like you’re dying but more like you’re playing laser tag, it also has the futurist rave techno music to reinforce this feeling. Although Unreal Tournament does have a single campaign mode, complete with a compelling story, it was clearly designed for online play, this is what catapulted the franchise to success in the first place. Nevertheless the single player experience although not Gears of War or Halo is worth experiencing by itself. The computer controlled bots are almost infinitely customizable and they can be adjusted so that they are almost impossible to kill or so that they are impossible not to kill, the AI is really solid.
Even though the amount of game modes Unreal Tournament offers pales in comparison to a lot of the newer franchises out there, I kind of got the sense that it was probably intentional on the developer’s part. Unreal Tournament has presented itself as the classic FPS fragfest experience and keeps the nature of online play a competitive one, but I could kind of sense it was intentional. The game delivers the essentials you would expect an Unreal Tournament game to have, Team Deathmatch, Capture the flag, Deathmatch, many of the Multiplayer games that Unreal Tournament initially helped to create anyways. But the game doesn’t follow suit with newer console FPS’s such as Battlefield or Call of Duty with good reason, Unreal Tournament 3 isn’t trying to be one of these games with a gazillion useless mini games and modes, Unreal Tournament is trying to be Unreal Tournament. They chose not to water down or dampen the nature of their game, which I completely agree with.
The gameplay didn’t disappoint, it delivered exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Unreal franchise, lightning fast smooth gameplay that doesn’t let you blink, a simple and practical control interface that enables anyone to be able to just pick up and play complete with PC mouse and Keyboard support for diehard PC gamers who can’t stand using controllers for FPS games. Mind you the integrated PS3 controls utilizing the PS3 controller are also very well implemented, my only problem with it was I found the default stick response to be a little slow, however this can be adjusted as well. What I loved most about this game is that the action stays smooth, I didn’t notice any major drops in the framerate even in the franticness of close up shoot offs, complete with rocket explosions and vehicles the game held its ground. UT is non-stop action, complete with winding mazes through sophisticated, futuristic industrial complexes, technoish music that makes you feel like you’re at a Sci-Fi rave and Deathmatch and capture the flag are still the foundation of the Unreal Tournament experience.
Unreal Tournament 3 still stands out even amidst the numerous other newcomers to the genre, Unreal Tournament is simply a novelty, in a league of its own. There is no other game quite like Unreal Tournament, with endless hours of playability, a truck load of customizable options, built in support for downloadable maps and mutators, tweaking modes with things like reduced gravity or insta-gib. With cross-compatibility for everything the PC community develops you can bet there will be plenty of new content available. Classic maps like Facing Worlds are already there. Unreal Tournament 3 sticks to the fast paced arcade feel that made it the powerful franchise that it is and it just owns it. Everything about this game is meticulously crafted. This is a must own game for all PS3 gamers out there, not just PC gamers.
Review: 98%
Pros:
The Game looks gorgeous, the maps, the worlds, the characters, there is simply no other FPS experience like Unreal Tournament
The game is fast paced, easy to get into and fiercely competitive in the Online circuit
The sound and music are still so fun, it feels like one big futuristic party
Cons:
The game is still somewhat behind in terms of the amount of playable modes and options it provides when compared with more modern FPS games.
